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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30062760">Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gothmoglordofbalrogs/pseuds/Gothmoglordofbalrogs'>Gothmoglordofbalrogs</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>DC Comics: Earth 55 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>DCU (Comics)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 17:35:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>853</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30062760</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gothmoglordofbalrogs/pseuds/Gothmoglordofbalrogs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Mia isn’t exactly thrilled about joining the Titans but if today is any indication, living in the same building as Zachary Zatara should be interesting.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>John Constantine/Zatanna Zatara</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>DC Comics: Earth 55 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2211666</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/pennysparrow/gifts">pennysparrow</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So this fic/gift has been in the works since January but then life decided to go to hell. My Grandpa died in January and my uncle died just a few weeks ago and to cope with everything my brother and I decided to strap a Two Stroke engine to his bicycle so between funerals, grief, work and that engineering project there went all my free time. For additional context this fic is part of an A.U. along the lines of the Arrowverse. It is, of course, based on the comics as well as the Animated Movie Universe and obviously the Arrowverse, all of which are owned by D.C. Comics and Warner Brothers.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Mia Dearden didn’t know what to think about Zatanna’s son. Any child of John Constantine was worthy of suspicion in her book, especially one who appeared hours after they arrived through a portal that smelled of brimstone. She looked him up and down. He was wearing a tailcoat suit over a white shirt, untucked and largely unbuttoned though covered in blood (whose blood is another question entirely) his bowtie is completely undone, with a bleeding lower lip and a hickey on his throat. The portal closed and he lifted up the most innately carved Winchester rifle that she had ever seen, which he then placed on the table. “Ace of Winchesters.” he declared in lieu of a proper explanation. “Also, Hello.” Mia glances over at Laurel, who raised an eyebrow at Zatanna. Zatanna sighed and blew her bangs out of her face. “Who was it this time, Zach?” Zach’s smirk was just like his father’s which in turn was the smirk of the devil. “Ashley from school.” Laurel whistled at that. “She wanted me to save her cousin from Hell. Hence the demon killing rifle. And the blood.” Mia rolls her eyes. “And the hickey?” Zachary had the decency to look sheepish. “That was her idea.” Mia snorted, Laurel put her face in her hands and Zatanna raised her brow. “Mom, you have no room to talk, Bruce Wayne, Lincoln March, Simon Stagg, that one time with Oliver Queen fifteen years ago you mentioned and obviously Dad.” With that he apparated to his room. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s a handful isn’t he?” Laurel asked. Zatanna smiled, “Not as much as when he was a toddler, back then he would say mama or dada backwards and we would just be summoned to wherever he was, regardless of where we were or what we were doing. Nearly got Shadowcrest burnt to the ground a couple times.” Laurel chuckled, “sounds like a pain in the ass.” Mia couldn’t quite contain her smirk. Zatanna’s reply sent them all into fits of laughter. “Well, yeah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Three minutes later (not that Mia was counting) Zachary came down the stairs. He was wearing civilian clothing: a sleeveless Mucous Membrane shirt with a button up plaid shirt over it as well as having switched the dress pants for a pair of jeans. Somehow, his hickey had disappeared.</span>
  <em>
    <span> Magic, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she concluded, suddenly feeling stupid for ever doubting that. They spent the day listening to their parents talk about everything and nothing at the same time. Their Hosts made them a magnificent dinner though She could hear Zatanna and Zachary having a heated conversation in italian. They ate and Zachary went to bed early and the rest of them stayed up later.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The next morning, Mia was sitting on the couch scrolling through her phone when she felt the couch dip from an extra body. She looked up to see Zachary had taken the seat at the other end, having put a space between them. She had a feeling that that is not something he would normally do when choosing to sit next to a pretty girl. And Mia knew she was pretty, though there still were times when she wished she wasn’t. Fortunately, Zachary pulled her from her thoughts before they could become any more melancholic.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span> “So, first of all this isn’t a date, just me being a courteous host, but would you like to go out into the city? If we are gonna be stuck together in a boarding school shaped like a giant T in a completely different city then we might as well get to know each other. I hear that the museum has an extravagant new exhibit on the moths and butterflies of Africa, which certainly won’t cause any problems for the resident bats at all whatsoever.” </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Mia didn’t even bother to contain her grunt. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That sure wasn’t pretty, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she thought happily. “Sure sounds like a date to me, buster, how do I know that it isn’t? And Killer Moth? He isn’t a threat to anyone. He’s a total joke!” The young man across from her laughed, a deep hearty sound.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes he is, though my classmates thought differently when he broke into the middle school I went to with a gun searching for his daughter. And to answer your question, it’s not a date because I know about your…eh...illness.” </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>She swallowed the lump that immediately formed in her throat. “How long have you known?” she dreaded the answer.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“Since last night while cooking dinner. Mom told me.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>So that is what they were talking about in Italian. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Mia was apprehensive about asking the next question so she was silently happy that he answered before she had to. “She also told me how you got it. It’s not your fault that you escaped one predator only to fall into the hands of another. Now, both Mom and Laurel want us to get to know each other so what do you say?”</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Mia smiled. “What the hell, Let’s go to the museum.” Zachary smirked. “Alright! A date it is.” She shoved him and to her satisfaction, he shoved her back.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I fear that between everything going on and not being much of a Green Arrow fan, I may have gotten Mia’s character completely wrong but I wanted her to be vulnerable about her illness. Tell me if she is completely ooc.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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